Everyone wants free

Well oh well , it’s been a bit of a down time for myself . I spent the summer running around doing free shoots building my portfolio . The results ? A bunch of ungrateful people .

People are asking , why I’m not doing photoshoots recently and the truth is , as soon as you tell someone your charging they move on . They only want free shoots . Never mind that it’s costing me about $50 just to get to a New York City Shoot . The average rate photographers in NYC :

Student – $35-85 per hour / $25-100 per image

Semi-Pro $50 – $150 per hour / $50-125 per image

These are photographers who have ambitions to join the ranks of the full-time professional. They may have job or income source to keep them afloat, however their aim to the leave the old job behind. Sometimes their additional skills are compatible with photography. They may be video professionals, designers, or graphic artists. Many compete with professional photographers for jobs, but are not quite ready to jump in with both feet. Some are happy to create photographs part-time, and will integrate the photography into their full-service package price.

Professional $75-$250 per hour / $75-$250 per image

We can argue that a professional is anyone who is paid at least once for her photography. For the purposes of categorization, a professional is someone who depends on photography to make a full-time living. More precisely, professionals have a solid portfolio, experience and commitment to represent their photographic speciality.

Ok , so where do I fit in there . Well I would place myself in the semi-pro range as far as what I should be getting per Shoot, but people are not even willing to pay student prices now a days .

I recently had someone ask me to do a shoot and help to build their portfolio . What did I ask for ? Basically gas money to get to the city to do the shoot , and the results were a no reply to my charging . So I’m going to help you to become a paid model and get nothing for my work ?

Another example is a person I shot during a designer fashion shoot , she told me how she paid a photographer $500 and got 5 photos from the Shoot that she hated , well she liked my work and wanted to shoot with me . But , she wants me to let her know when I’m in the city , basically looking not to pay me to come up to shoot her , because if I’m already in the city then I guess she assumes it’s just a get together free shoot . Needless to say , I didn’t reply to her request . If I’m in the city , I’m there for myself , relaxing , photoing what I want, if you want me to punch in and do a shoot I’ll do that , but , not on my time . Not anymore !

Honestly , I make more money sitting sitting home and not shooting then what’s it’s costing me to do a shoot .

I understand that some people just want photos for their Instagram accounts and don’t have a desire for anything quality . But , if your looking to be a model or some professional work that may require photos then , you need to pay up .

Well that’s enough of that , I don’t like to waste to much time being frustrated , I will eventually find the right group of people that understand the concept of paying someone for work completed .

I have spent a couple days in NYC photoing some nature stuff and here’s a few photos ..